Shantae's Invitation
by Inked Roots Productions
Summary: I was inspired by a few literatures on DA and the trailer from 2018's March's Nintendo Direct, this is what I picture Shantae getting her invitation to Super Smash Bros. I may look a bit dated nowadays, but I hope you like it. Shantae belongs to WayForward and their respectful owners. Super Smash Bros. belongs to Nintendo and their respectful owners.


The sun shone down upon Scuttle Town from a light blue cloudless sky, offering warmth and tranquility to the waterfront town. Yet despite the beauty of the day, the dockyard of Scuttle Town was anything but peaceful..

A cannonball exploded as it slammed against the ground, causing the residential Guardian to back flip out of the way. The guardian was a sixteen year old young woman with tan skin, blue eyes and long purple growing hair done in a ponytail, tied back in a gold metal ponytail stem stalk. She wore a red bedlah outfit; consisting of a strapless bra and sheer harem pants, revealing her well toned and shaped torso. Her gold jewelry consisted of two forearm bands, earrings and a tiara with a brilliant blue gem in the centre. A small black-purple choker-style necklace adorned around the bottom of her neck. To any observer, the young woman had the appearance of a belly dancer and looked out of place of the crisis unfolding. But she wasn't any ordinary dancer: she was known as Shantae, the Half-Genie hero of Sequin Land.

Shantae back-flipped again as another cannonball exploded near her and regained her footing. Her day started when a mysterious box arrived for Uncle Mimic at the dockyard that particular morning. As usual, Shantae (along with her friends Sky, Bolo and the zombie known as Rottytops) wanted to see what it contained and to see if was benign or not. Almost as soon as they arrived, the dockyard was under attack from the nefarious pirate known as Risky Boots (as usual).

The self proclaimed Queen of the Seven Seas cackled as her horde of Tinkerbats hauled the box on to her ship and the cannons rained destruction upon the town. Risky Boots had the appearance of a pale purple-blue skinned woman with a large pirate hat with a skull symbol which kept her long growing hair in, She wore a purple necklace with a gold pendant around her neck, a top that looked like the upper half of a skull, deep purple pants lined with a white rim that looked like a jaw bone and a belt which held her scimitar and pistol.

"Ho ho ho ho! Snooze you loose, runt!" she crowed, "Tinkerbats! Fire away and smack some booty for momma!"

The ships' cannons fired again, smashing into various buildings and punching holes through less fortified areas. Tinkerbats raised their scimitars and and leaped from the ship onto the dockyard. Shantae weighed her options as she saw Tinkerbats coming towards her. Her friends are too busy helping the civilians get to safety, which left her on her own to deal with Risky. Taking a deep breath, Shantae's eyes narrowed and a ball of fire formed in the palm of her hand. Just before the Tinkerbats jumped upon her, Shantae extended her hand and fired three fireballs. They slammed into the first Tinkerbat, knocking it away. Shantae fired again and again, blasting three Tinkerbats away. Some of them appeared behind her with their scimitars raised. Shantae spun around and swung her hair in a wide arc, whipping the Tinkerbats away with surprising force. Risky Boots growled and pointed her pistol at Shantae.

"Double power, shorten the fuse!" she barked, "Aim...FIRE!"

A cannon aimed at the Half-Genie heroine and spat out its contents. Shantae heard it fire and, to the surprise of anyone watching her, began to sway her hips and arms from side to side. To those that know her, Shantae had the ability to turn into various creatures of her choice via belly dancing. A faint purple-pink glow enveloped her as midriff undulated and swayed, her inward navel contorting with her movements. Suddenly, Shantae struck a pose and her whole body glowed as she began to change.

"TRANSFORM!"

The glow abruptly went out and in place of a young woman was a small purple and peach monkey. With her heightened senses and instincts, Shantae darted with blinding speed to one side, just as the cannonball detonated on the spot where she was before. Risky Boots gritted her teeth and roared, "Fire and this time don't miss!"

The cannons belched and spat with wanton abandon. Shantae darted from side to side as explosions blossomed behind her as she ran on all fours. She ran behind a large stack of boxes and stopped as she planned her next move. Closing her eyes, her body glowed and she changed into her real form.

"Hope this works.." she muttered as she started to dance again.

Risky Boots chortled as she pointed her scimitar at the stack of boxes that Shantae hid herself behind.

"That won't help you at all!" she taunted, "FIRE!"

A cannon fired once and the boxes exploded in a shower of flames and fragmented timber. Risky Boots cackled at the result in front of her. Before she could say anything, a shadow in the sky caught her eye. She glanced up and flinched with shock. The shadow was in fact Shantae in her harpy form. Her body had blue skin with blue feathered bird wings instead of arms and bird like legs with sharp talons. Shantae swooped down and landed on the deck of Risky Boots' ship, swiping away a few Tinkerbats in the process. The harpy's body glowed and Shantae returned to normal, striking a pose for a fight.

"Give it up Risky!" she said, "That box is not your property! Besides, you don't know what's inside it anyway!"

"Which it all more inviting to plunder!" Risky Boots countered, "Tinkerbats! Cut this runt down to size!"

More Tinkerbats appeared from with the ship, surrounding Shantae and menacing her with their blades. Shantae began to dance again, the glow enveloped her as she struck a different pose.

"TRANSFORM!"

The glow faded, revealing a large elephant with gold jewellery and a ornate carpet on her back. The Tinkerbats hesitated from seeing the Half-Genie's largest form. Taking advantage of this, Shantae jumped up and slammed onto the wooden deck with such force that the shock-wave blew away the Tinkerbats. Even Risky Boots trembled from the impact, nearly losing her balance. The wooden floor started to creak and crack under Shantae's weight. Before anyone can say anything, the floor gave way and the elephant fell through the floor and landed on the floor of the cargo hold. Hitting the deck hard, Shantae reverted to her normal form and looked around. She saw a few Tinkerbats looking at her and turning a cannon around to aim at her.

"Uh oh.." she muttered under breath, backing away.

She managed a few steps before she tripped on something large and round, causing her to roll backwards and vanished into the shadows of the hold. The Tinkerbats looked at each other in puzzlement, not knowing how their target had got away. Shantae looked up and gasped in surprise. When she had fallen through the floor, she also broke the mysterious box that Risky Boots had stolen. Its contents was an orb about the size of a large beach ball. It appeared to be jet black if it weren't for the rainbow iridescent effect it gave off in the sunlight. Wondering what the item was, Shantae emerged from the shadows and picked up the orb. To her surprise, it was light in weight. Then the situation dawned on her; she was now in sight of the Tinkerbats with the cannon. Suddenly an idea formed in her head on how to use this to advantage. Shantae stuck her tongue out in a childish fashion at the Tinkerbats.

"Na-na-na-na-na! You can't hit me!" she mocked in a sing-song voice.

The Tinkerbats bristled with indignation and aimed the cannon at her. Risky Boots peered down the hole and saw what was happening, terror suddenly forming inside her.

"NO YOU IDIOTS! DON'T FIRE AT-!"

But it was too late. The cannon fired and smashed onto the floor of the cargo hold. Shantae darted out of the way just in time. A sudden geyser of sea water exploded from the hole that the cannonball made. Water began to fill the hold at an alarming rate. Knowing that she'll have to swim, Shanate glanced at Risky Boots with a triumphant grin.

"Well you know what they say," she said, "a good captain always goes down with the ship. It's over Risky!"

Taking a deep breath, Shantae dove in the water with the sphere in tow. Risky Boots roared in rage at her defeat and from the incompetence of the Tinkerbats.

"Curse you Shantae!" she bellowed, "Tinkerbats! Prepare the lifeboat and abandon ship!"

A short while later, Shantae was on dry land with mysterious orb in hand, drying off in the sun and watching Risky Boots' ship sink to the bottom of the harbour. It had been a trying time against the Pirate Queen, but she reflected that it could've been worse on the whole. She looked at the orb in her hands and turned it in her hands.

"Wonder what's so valuable about this?" she murmured to herself.

Almost if on cue, the orb began to hum with a hidden power. Shantae yelped with surprise, letting go of the orb by accident. The orb din't fall though; it floated in the air at eye level of Shantae, slowly starting to glow from black to a myriad of reds, orange and yellow. Then it became an orb of fire, yet the flickering flames were apparently inside of the orb. Shantae watched the spectacle in front of her, almost mesmerised. At that point, Uncle Mimic came along. He was a large, portly old man with a long white beard and a pair of yellow tinted glasses on the bridge of his nose. He wore an ornate dark green trench coat (despite the heat of the day), a burgundy t-shirt and a pair of denim trousers. Though he wasn't related to Shantae, he was regard as her uncle and being the closest thing she had as a family.

"Shantae!" he called, "What's happening and what's that?"

"This is what was inside that box earlier." said Shantae, not taking her eyes of the orb, "But I don't know what it's doing."

Uncle Mimic watched the orb flicker with the inner fire, his keen eyes drinking in every detail for future knowledge. Then a black thick vertical line formed on one corner of the sphere and the a thinner horizontal line formed, which intersected at a specific point to the bottom left of the orbs' centre. Shantae gasped in astonishment as she finally realised what it meant. The orb wasn't just a priceless treasure; it was an _invitation_.

"Shantae," said Uncle Mimic, his voice filled with awe, "do you know what this means?"

"Yes I do Uncle." Shanate responded, blinking away a solitary tear from her eye, "It means that I've got my chance at long last."

Shantae's slack jaw slowly turned upwards in an excited and joyful smile. Through the flickering flames of the orb, she swore that she saw a silhouette of someone; a person in armour with a horned helmet and carrying a efficient looking shovel.

"Thank you.." Shantae breathed, "Thank you so much...**Super Smash Bros.**"


End file.
